


a stor mo chroi (treasure of my heart)

by persephinae



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:33:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9644531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephinae/pseuds/persephinae
Summary: A stor mo chroi when you're far awayFrom the home you will soon be leavingIt's many's the time by night and by dayWhen your heart will be sorely grieving





	

**Author's Note:**

> (this takes place before Blind Betrayal and I plan on writing more, including a prequel with Nate. i mainly wrote this for myself because i ship my oc & Danse so much >.>;;)

_"Brianna!"_

Danse cried her in name in visceral terror as she slowly turned towards the threat behind her, unseen until he screamed her name in warning. The cry was ripped from his soul and his peripheral vision faded as everything within him focused on the super mutant behind her, ready to swing a war hammer at her skull. Time seemed to slow, his ears rang as the sounds of battle muted, except for his own ragged breathing which he forced himself to concentrate on. He couldn't afford to lose a single moment to panic, so he let his training take over. He would not, could not think about failing. His laser rifle got a few good shots at the monster, even shot it in the eyes, the bastard. That staggered it enough to give Brianna time, which she used wisely enough to shoot it right in the throat, its head exploding gore everywhere. Time seemed to speed up again as Danse's hearing and vision began registering his surroundings, and he realized his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to pound through his chest and out his power armor.

Brianna stood there gripping her shotgun, scanning for any other super mutants in the clearing, her Pip-Boy playing Billie Holiday in the background. _"Good morning, heartache, thought we'd said goodbye last night..."_ She was breathing heavily as she absently wiped her drenched hair from her face, merely smearing the blood in a swath over her cheek. It stood in bright, vivid contrast against the pale softness of her skin. _"Stop haunting me now... Can't shake you, no how.... Just leave me alone..."_ She cocked her head, listening hard for the deep baying of the mutant hounds that usually accompanied their super mutant masters.

Without looking at Danse, she whispered low, "My Pip-Boy is telling me there's one more. I don't know if it's a super mutant or a mutant hound, but it's out there."

She glanced quickly down at her Pip-Boy, trying to pinpoint where it might be, and Danse immediately took point and covered for her while she was occupied. She wisely turned off the radio and did a small sweep of their surroundings, motioning to Danse where the last hold out might be. She pointed to the small copse of trees near the lake bank. It was a thick tangle of shrubs, weeds, and skinny, radiation blasted trees. They both crouched low and slowly creeped towards the lake shore where they could get a better view and cover.

As they neared a rock outcrop, Brianna tried to quietly reload her shotgun while keeping an eye on their target. Danse heard her breathing turn heavy as she readied herself for battle again. He watched her as she tried to concentrate on her breathing and get a good grip on her gun. It amazed him that a Vault Dweller, a pre-war Vault Dweller at that, could adapt so quickly to the harsh realities of the outside world. Not to say she was an expert that never made a mistake, or was an unparallelled marksman, but the fact that she tried very hard to keep calm in battle, began to carry weapons that worked best with her strengths, and tried to minimize her weaknesses was worth praise. Not everyone could do that. Some people never reacted well to fighting or battle, nor did they have a good sense of their own strengths and weaknesses. Brianna had a lot of potential, and Danse knew with the right training and support, she could be a great Knight. Maybe one of the greatest, not only for her strengths and potential, but because she had a great heart and determination. Where life may let you down in one area, determination could carry you through. She didn't know it, but she had grit.

Unfortunately for them, the noise from Danse's power armor shifting over the gravel gave them away. Power Armor was created to make US soldiers unstoppable juggernauts on the battlefield, made to withstand heavy fire and give rise to human tanks. It was not made for stealth or covert operations, nor sneaking up on super mutants apparently. Danse clenched his jaw in annoyed determination, while Brianna reactively clutched her gun in fear. Her heart was still beating fast from shooting the other one. Not for the first time, she bleakly despaired at this new world she lived in.

"A noise! What is it?!!"

The super mutant walked around the tree, trying to pinpoint their location. It tried to sniff the wind as it walked, dragging it's paddle board on the ground. Like all the super mutants she encountered on the surface, this one was well over 8 feet tall, with heavy musculature, no body hair whatsoever, and tough, leathery green skin. This one was a low ranking super mutant, however, it was barely covered in a ratty loincloth and leather straps.

 _Thank fuck_ , thought Brianna. Much easier to shoot than the higher ranking, armor covered Overlords. She took a deep, quiet breath, let it out slowly, and signaled to Danse her plan. She would go left, he would go right, and they'd kill it in a pincer move. Simple and easy to do. She had already started creeping left when she caught Danse's slow head shake no. She stopped, furrowed her brow in agitation, and silently mouthed, "What?"

His own brows furrowed in determination and stubbornness as he gestured that he would go left and she would stay here, where it was safer. For emphasis, he pointed at his power armor then at her vault suit barely covered with leather armor.

Brianna pursed her lips in irritation, looked heavenward for a moment, and gestured grandly at her shotgun as if presenting something wondrous. She then glared at him, trying to somehow telepathically convey that shotguns were made for close range shooting, _dumbass_. She narrowed her eyes as she willfully and stubbornly ignored him, then pursed her lips again as she steeled herself to move into position.

Danse lost his concentration for a moment as his gaze locked on her lips. He would never admit it to her, but her lips were made for kissing and he had many wandering thoughts about them. They were lush and pink, not too wide but not too small, and in his darkest nights he yearned to touch them. He could almost feel their petal softness in his fevered dreams. They were perfectly formed for nibbling, tasting, or devouring with breath stealing kisses. Some nights, as he lay in his bunk on the Prydwen, he dreamed about how it could be with her. When he woke each morning, Danse felt guilty for thinking of her. He had a duty and she was a widow. He tried not to think about her during the day, blocking any illicit thought, blocking any half remembered dream. She deserved respect and a man much better than himself.

He blinked and tried to clear his thoughts, noticing that Brianna was already sneaking left. He watched her for a moment, and surmised she would try to get behind the mutant and shoot its leg off, crippling it and preventing it from chasing her. The mutant only had a board, so wouldn't be able to shoot her. It was sound reasoning, logically, but it was very risky to pull off in real life. Super mutants had a superior sense of smell. If she wasn't careful of the wind, or if the wind shifted, it would smell her and immediately be alerted.

Danse, still crouching, ever so slowly began moving to the right. With his laser rifle, he wouldn't need to be as close, so not only could he get in a few good shots from a greater distance, he could also be the distraction she needed.

Damn her hide. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she would surprise him yet again with some new facet. He was forever trying to put the pieces together in his mind. She fascinated him. There was always something new to discover about her. Apparently, what he learned today was that Brianna was incredibly stubborn and pigheaded. He was also having to revise his earlier assessment of her personality. To think he had once thought her quiet and demure. He had come to now see that she was very polite and respectful of people she was not familiar with, and was now seeing first hand that as she became closer to a person, her mask of a reserved quiet demeanor was set aside for someone with a joy for life, a ready smile, and kindness not usually seen in the Commonwealth. Also, she had a potty mouth and knack for swearing that more than made up for MacCready's vow to refrain from swearing. He once heard her apologizing to Curie about it, explaining that before the Vault, she was very quiet and hardly ever swore. Sheepishly, she admitted that the Commonwealth made it very hard to refrain. Danse remembered absently smiling at that admission while he patrolled the settlement with Dogmeat.

Increasingly, he found his thoughts bent towards her more often. She was like a surprise of sunshine after enduring weeks of rain. It became that while he still found her beautiful, her beauty was secondary to her mind and personality. More and more, he wanted to hear her voice, hear her thoughts, watch emotions flash across her face - laughing joy, wry smiles, sarcastic quips, and shadowed sadness that he longed to ease. He admired everything she had accomplished since she had stepped forth from her Vault. How easy the Commonwealth could have crushed her and spat out her bones. Yet she survived. How easy the trauma she endured could have left her in weeping despair. Yet she kept putting one foot in front of the other, kept gritting her teeth and trying again. Danse thought she was incredibly brave. He saw that when he first met her at Cambridge Police Station. He had thought her an avenging angel as she efficiently, and fearlessly, took out the swarming ferals.

Now that he knew her better and worried about her constantly, he looked back on that memory and scowled. She should not have risked herself like that. His lips thinned and he slowly tilted his head at the memory. An innocent, pre-war vault dweller.. roaming the Commonwealth with nothing but a dog and a shotgun. It was amazing that she had made it that far. It was incredible at how far she's come now.

He absently readied himself and got into position. Danse saw Brianna had been waiting for him as they made eye contact across the clearing. She jerked her head towards the super mutant and Danse gave a firm nod back. He saw her take a breath to prepare and saw that she was ready.

"For the Brotherhood!" He shouted as he fired rapidly. He shot it once in its eye, then kept firing at its torso, its skin become singed and burned under the onslaught. The super mutant bellowed in pain, staggering back for a moment and holding its eye. It then snarled and locked its gaze on Danse. It bashed its board in anger against his other hand.

It roared across the clearing, "Human! You'll pay!"

Danse merely kept firing, buying Brianna time while she crept closer into range. He admired her nerve, he'd give her that. Not many could keep their wits enough to do what she was doing. Humans had good reason to fear super mutants. Danse concentrated on keeping the super mutant focused on him and tried not to think about all the atrocities super mutants were capable of.

It was bleeding and charred now in places, began to bellow in crazed pain. It had only been a minute or two, but Danse hoped Brianna would fire soon. It would be extremely unfortunate if this thing alerted nearby enemies. There could be raiders, more super mutants, or deathclaws if they weren't careful and were extremely unlucky.

Danse's wish proved fortuitous. Brianna got close enough, but within a safe enough distance, to shoot the bastard's leg off. Her shot was loud, and well-aimed, cleanly shooting it's leg into gorey pieces.

The super mutant yelled in agonizing pain and toppled forward onto its face. Brianna then methodically shot it in the back of the head and the bellowing stopped. Birdsong suddenly seemed to come into loud focus in the silence afterwards. She put her hand over her chest, trying to still her erratic heartbeat.

After a moment, Brianna put her gun away and absently wiped at her suddenly tired eyes. Her hands barely shook now. She used the palm of her hand to avoid getting blood in her eyes, although that seemed to be a losing battle. She made sure to check her Pip-Boy one last time to see if there were any stragglers they missed or incoming hostiles attracted by all the noise. So far, nothing.

Danse scanned the surroundings anyway and did a quick perimeter check. Not that he didn't trust her Pip-Boy, but they shouldn't rely upon it as the only means for reconnaissance. Machines break. Laziness and inattention could kill you as easily as infection. When Danse was satisfied with his scan, he finally let himself worry over Brianna as he walked back to her. Today's battle seemed to have taken a toll on her. Within his own mind, Danse wished he was better at interpersonal relationships, better at words. Truth be told, he wished for a great many things.

"Brianna.."

His voice was low and held a note of concern for her. Brianna blinked tiredly, and focused on Danse. She canted her head and took a moment to gaze at him. His face was dirty again. He kept rubbing at his face or tried very gently scratching it during the day and usually smeared machine oil across his face in the process. He was better than her at manipulating the controls with enough dexterity and gentleness to do that. She tried once and almost punched herself in the face. She almost laughed at that memory, but Danse was worried about her. It wouldn't do to laugh after shooting a super mutant down. She sighed at herself. Danse with his puppy dog eyes and thick black hair she longed to run her fingers through. Danse who would be shocked at her wayward thoughts and selfish desires.

"Brianna... are you okay?"

Danse moved closer to her, his power armor's heavy footfalls seeming abnormally loud in the silence after the battle. She closed her eyes for a moment, but when she opened her eyes again she suddenly found herself looking up at Danse. How had he moved so quickly to stand before her? Maybe she was that exhausted from battle. It was only a few this time, but she didn't think she would ever get used to it like Danse seemed to think.

For some reason he seemed to be under the impression that she had the makings of a great soldier. He seemed to think she was brave, fearless, quick thinking, and good at strategy. Nate would probably laugh. More likely though, he'd be horrified by what she endured and what she continued to endure. It was probably a good thing he had died so quickly and nobly; it would break his heart that she had suffered so much. Brianna blinked back tears at the thought and gently closed the door in her mind upon those thoughts. _Keep going forward._ She knew if she thought about everything that had happened since that day, she'd weep and scream until she went insane.

Since she met Danse, Brianna shamelessly lapped up his validation and companionship like some stray cat. Initially, she had just saved the soldiers at the police station because it was the right thing to do. She hadn't even spared a thought about it. She just veered off her course and came in guns blazing so to speak. Then as she learned about the Brotherhood and Danse's sponsorship, she had planned to use them to help find Shaun.

Now she just wanted to be near him. His presence constantly chipped away at her battered heart, slowly filling her with new dreams. In a world of such violence and horrors, he felt safe and calm to her - with his low voice, wide shoulders, and strong arms that were surprisingly gentle with her. She wanted to be held and never let go. Everything was gone and everyone had left her. She wanted to be selfish and have one thing she could cling tenaciously to. She wanted to know more about what made him tick. She desperately wanted to have someone she could confide everything to, and have a shoulder to lean on. She was tired of being alone and afraid. She felt sorry for worrying him, she just felt so tired.

"I'm alright Danse.. I'll be fine. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Brianna gave him a small tired smile that still shone with her warmth and sincerity. And just like that some of the tension left Danse's shoulders within his power armor. He wanted to hug her, gently wipe the grime from her face, but that was beyond their current social boundaries, and he had to remind himself that she was not his. She belonged to her husband's memory, a good soldier who gave his last breath to protect her and her son. He didn't deserve Danse sullying his sacrifice. Danse didn't know what he wanted anyway. He had all these thoughts and impulses where she was concerned, and he didn't know how he wanted to proceed if he even did act upon them.

Danse was suddenly scowling down at her, but it wasn't exactly focused on her so she guessed it something he was over thinking. He always seemed to be over thinking about anything outside the Brotherhood of Steel, looking at every angle, trying to find the best explanation. Brianna wanted to go home. Her real home in her own timeline, more than anything in the entire world, but her ruined home in present day Sanctuary would do.

Fatigued and feeling empty, she left Danse to his stewing and wandered over to what was left of Walden Pond to wash her face off. She wearily knelt in the muddy bank, placed her glasses carefully on the ground beside her, and cupped water to her face. She wished she had a ribbon or a hair tie with her to hold back her hair.

She heard Danse stomp towards her then stop just behind her, clamping his gun to his side as he asked, "Did you want me to hold your hair back? We can't stay very long here, it's too open, but I can hold your hair while you quickly wash up."

Brianna wiped at her eyes and blearily glanced sideways at Danse.

"Can you do that without ripping my hair out?" she asked seriously. She knew he wouldn't exit his power armor in the open field like this, but she did know he had great control of its dexterity.

Danse nodded and knelt before her. He gazed thoughtfully at her bright auburn hair, normally bouncy and thick, but now sticky and matted with partially dried blood and other things. Without a word, and without glancing once at her, he ever so gently used his hand controls to hold back her hair. Brianna's heart thudded within her breast at such gentleness and focus. She tried not to shake her head at her foolishness as she didn't want her hair getting accidentally caught. Slowly she lowered herself towards the water and Danse followed suit.

Her heart was beating fast and her breath quickened. She tried to wash as fast as she could before he asked if she was alright. Her face heated in pre-embarrassment. _Ughhhhh_ she hated being a redhead. She blushed over the silliest things. Hopefully he wouldn't say anything. Brianna quickly scrubbed at her face, trying to get most of the blood and bits off her face. She really, _really_ tried to not think about the bits because she knew she would throw up if she did. Oh, how she longed for a nice long bath.

Danse's deep voice interrupted her thoughts and scrubbing with, "I think you got most it off."

Brianna wiped the water from her eyes, and pulled a handkerchief from her belt pouch to dry her face. When she was finished she found Danse lazily watching her dry her face. She blushed again under his scrutiny, and just like that the spell was broken. He blinked and gently let go of her hair, careful to not snag it in the joints of his power armor.

Brianna took extra time to try and tie back her hair with the handkerchief. Not only to get the ruined mess of her hair away from her face, but to give herself a moment to think over her feelings. How careful and focused Danse was. She shivered at the thought at being the object of his undivided attention. Unseeing and absently lost in thought, she put her glasses back on and let her fingers linger across her face. Her thoughts were a jumble of longings, thoughts about the past, and numbness from all her battles in this new world. She rubbed her eyes and let her gaze focus out across the remnants of Walden Pond.

"It was greener once..." the words slipped out unbidden as she remembered a time when the shore was lined with greenery.

Danse turned from scanning the perimeter and walked back towards her. He looked out upon the ruined shore and greatly reduced waters, trying to picture it differently. It was hard when all you've known is the brown of the wasteland. Try as he might, he was having a hard time imagining the wasteland as it once was.

Curious, he asked her, "What did it look like in your time?"

He turned his attention back to Brianna, as she stared out unseeing across the ruins. He forgot sometimes, that she was so much older. She had been there before the world broke. She knew what the world was supposed to look like. She had been there at the height of mankind's epoch, before their greed, selfishness, and hatred brought everything crashing down. She was never supposed to be here. He glowered at that thought, and was glad Brianna wasn't paying attention to him at that moment.

Her thoughts cast back to times long gone, when she had come with her family to this spot. Haltingly, she answered, "The water had been clear and pure. Cold to touch. There was no radiation, no global warming. The north was still bound to the seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The spring was always cold and muddy, with the last week or two crammed with sudden blooming."

Brianna was still lost in her memories as she turned to some past moment in time. "Birdsong. So many birds.. not like the few mutant birds you have in the wasteland, ravens or seagulls with feathers falling out, the poor things... these were varied and beautiful.. so many.. their songs filled the air. We took them for granted, complained about being woken up at the crack of dawn with their calls! But on a quiet summer day, with the bees buzzing over so many, many flowers, and the birds singing, soaring through beautiful summer skies.. you could count yourself lucky to have such a peaceful day."

She turned back to point to the right of them, at some naked muddy bank that held a few scraggly dead trees. "So many trees used to be here.. pine and deciduous trees.. the sun used to shine golden green through all the leaves.. my family..." her breath hitched at those words, but she continued, "my family came here multiple times. In the summer, we'd come here and swam. My father would play tag with me in the water."

Tears gathered in her eyes and threatened to fall. Danse hated to see her cry, yet at the same time, he was selfish and yearned to hear her talk of her family and greener times. How wonderful to never worry about radiation, raiders, and worse. To just enjoy nature and time with your loved ones. She was lucky she had such a caring family.

She rubbed at her face, her lip beginning to wobble, "I'd give anything to see my family again. To see the trees with leaves, the flowers blooming. To see my grandfather sitting by the fire one starry night, with a hearty laugh and a mug of cocoa he set aside for me."

Danse briefly shuffled his feet then decided to go to her. He yearned to hear more, to try and envision such peaceful green times, but he couldn't have her crying. It hurt his heart and he didn't know why.

He very gently placed his armored hand upon her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Brianna."

He was sorry for a quite a lot. He was sorry for her loss. He was sorry she lost her husband and child. He was sorry she lost her world. He was sorry she was stuck in the wastelands. He was sorry he made her remember. He was sorry he wasn't better at comforting.

Brianna patted his armor, although he wouldn't be able to feel it. "Thank you, Paladin Danse. I'm sorry for worrying you."


End file.
